This invention is directed generally to methods and apparatus useful in pouring of concrete walls and, more particularly, to concrete wall forms and methods employing same.
Concrete forms are available in various standard sizes and are normally joined together at the job site to create the various lengths and angles needed for the concrete wall being formed. Joining together and then, after the concrete has hardened, disassembling the numerous forms typically required for a concrete wall, such as a foundation wall for a house, is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task. The need to maintain alignment of the forms while under pressure from the poured concrete has led to the development of walers, or alignment bars, that are positioned within brackets secured to the back side of the forms and extend along a plurality of adjacent forms to resist bowing or other displacement of the forms. In some applications, walers have been secured along the tops of several adjacent forms, thereby allowing the several forms to be installed and removed at a job site while being joined together. Although the use of the waler for this purpose is beneficial because it reduces the installation and removal time, the waler is positioned above the tops of the forms and interferes with the vertical stacking of two or more forms as is sometimes required in connection with the forming of taller concrete walls. Moreover, the waler has not been positioned along the bottom of the forms because it would cause the bottom of the forms to be raised above level of the footers or other surface on which the forms are placed. As a result, in order to obtain the desired alignment of the bottoms of the forms, a chalk line must sometimes be placed on the footer and the forms are then aligned with the chalk line and nailed into place. It can be appreciated that aligning the forms in this manner adds significantly to the time required for installation.
A need has thus developed for a way to join together a plurality of forms to simplify their alignment as well as their installation and removal without interfering with the ability to stack one form on top of another.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a form assembly for use in forming a poured concrete wall. The form assembly is constructed from a plurality of wall panels which are aligned in planar relationship with adapters interposed between the wall panels and along the free sides thereof. Each said wall panels comprises a frame having spaced apart side rails and a top and a bottom, as well as a face sheet applied to the frame and presenting a surface against which concrete is poured. The adapters are joined to the side rails of adjacent wall panels, and each comprises spaced apart sides and spaced apart upper and lower end plates positioned at the top and bottom of the adapter. Each adapter further includes a face plate applied to the sides of the adapter and presenting a surface against which concrete is poured. A relief is forced in the upper end plates and preferably also the lower end plates of each adapter opposite from the face plate. Walers are positioned within the reliefs and are joined to the respective end plates. The walers extend along and maintain horizontal and vertical planar alignment of the wall panels and the adapters. The relief allows the walers to be recessed sufficiently so that they do not extend beyond the horizontal plane defined by the top and bottom of the wall panels. As a result, the walers do not interfere with either the positioning of the form assembly on a surface such as a footer or the stacking of one form assembly on top of another.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to using the form assembly described above to form an open space in which concrete is poured to create a wall, such as a foundation wall for a house. The form assembly is installed and removed as a single unit, thereby greatly reducing the time and effort that would otherwise be required to install and remove the individual wall panels.